The Federal Government of Brazil (''Governo Federal'') is the national government of the

Federative Republic of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

, a republic in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

divided in 26 states and a federal district. The Brazilian federal government is divided in three branches: the executive, which is headed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

; the legislative, whose powers are vested by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

in the National Congress; and the judiciary, whose powers are vested in the

Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for consti ...

and lower federal courts. The seat of the federal government is located in

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

Division of powers

Brazil is a

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

presidential constitutional republic, which is based on a

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represen ...

. The federal government has three independent

branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually r ...

: executive, legislative, and judicial. The Federal Constitution is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the federal government. It provides the framework for the organization of the Brazilian government and for the relationship of the federal government to the states, to citizens, and to all people within Brazil.

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

is exercised by the executive, headed by the

, advised by a

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

. The President is both the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

Legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

is vested upon the National Congress, a two-chamber legislature comprising the

Federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Brazilian Senate ** The United States Sen ...

and the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

Judicial power The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

is exercised by the judiciary, consisting of the

, the Superior Court of Justice and other Superior Courts, the

National Justice Council The National Justice Council ( pt, Conselho Nacional de Justiça ) is an organ of the Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin Americ ...

and the

regional federal courts The Regional Federal Courts (in Portuguese, ''Tribunais Regionais Federais'', commonly called TRFs) are the courts of appeal of . They represent the second instance courts of the Brazilian Federal Justice system and are responsible not only for ap ...

Executive branch

, President of the Republic , Jair Bolsonaro ,

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, 1 January 2019 , - , Vice President of the Republic ,

Hamilton Mourão Antônio Hamilton Martins Mourão (; born 15 August 1953) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer serving as the 25th vice president of Brazil. He has served as vice president under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro since 1 Januar ...

Republicanos Republicans (), formerly known as Brazilian Republican Party ( pt, Partido Republicano Brasileiro) and formed as Renovator Municipalist Party ( pt, Partido Municipalista Renovador) is a Brazilian political party. Its electoral number is 10 and ...

, 1 January 2019

Legislative branch

The bicameral National Congress (''Congresso Nacional'') consists of: * The

(''Senado Federal''), which has 81 seats — three members from each States and the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...

, elected according to the principle of

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

(''Câmara dos Deputados''), which has 513 seats. Federal deputies are elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

to serve four-year terms. The bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of: There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve for either chamber. The seats are allotted proportionally to each state's population, but each state is eligible for a minimum of eight seats and a maximum of 70 seats. The result is a system weighted in favor of smaller states that are part of the Brazilian federation. Currently, 15 political parties are represented in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. Since it is common for politicians to switch parties, the proportion of congressional seats held by particular parties changes regularly. To avoid that, the

ruled in 2007 that the term belongs to the parties, and not to the representatives. File:Brasilia Congresso Nacional 05 2007 221.jpg, The National Congress building File:Senado2006.jpg,

Federal Senate of Brazil The Federal Senate ( pt, Senado Federal) is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the House of Lords of the British Parliament, but since the Proclamation ...

, the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

File:Chamber of Deputies of Brazil 2.jpg,

Chamber of Deputies of Brazil The Chamber of Deputies ( pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year ...

, the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

Judicial branch

Brazilian courts function under civil law

adversarial system The adversarial system or adversary system is a legal system used in the common law countries where two advocates represent their parties' case or position before an impartial person or group of people, usually a judge or jury, who attempt to det ...

. The Judicial branch is organized in states' and federal systems with different jurisdictions. The judges of the courts of the first instance take office after public competitive examination. The second instance judges are promoted among the first instance judges. The Justices of the superior courts are appointed by the President for life and approved by the Senate. All the judges and justices must be graduated in law. Brazilian judges must retire at the age of 70.

Federal judicial branch

The national territory is divided into five regions, which are composed of two or more states. Each region is divided into Judiciary Sections (''Seções Judiciárias'' in Portuguese), coterminous with the territory of each state, and subdivided in Judiciary Subsections (''Subseções Judiciárias''), each with a territory that may not correspond to the states' comarcas. The Judiciary subsections have federal courts of the first instance and each Region has a Federal Regional Tribunal (''Tribunal Regional Federal'') as a court of the second instance. There are special federal court systems, in which such as

Labour Court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...

(''Justiça do Trabalho'') for labor or employment-related matters and disputes, Election Justice (''Justiça Eleitoral'') for electoral matters, and Military Justice (''Justiça Militar'') for martial criminal cases, each of them with its own courts.

Superior Courts

There are two national superior courts that grant

writs In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, an ...

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

in civil and criminal cases: the Superior Justice Tribunal (''Superior Tribunal de Justiça'', STJ) and the federal

supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, called the

( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal). The STJ grants a Special Appeal (''Recurso Especial'') when a judgment of a court of the second instance offends a federal

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

disposition or when two or more second instance courts make different rulings on the same federal statute. There are parallel courts for

labor law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

electoral law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management b ...

and

military law Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

. The STF grants Extraordinary Appeals (''Recurso Extraordinário'') when judgments of second instance courts violate the constitution. The STF is the last instance for the writ of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

and for reviews of judgments from the STJ. The superior courts do not analyze any factual questions in their judgments, but only the application of the law and the constitution. Facts and evidence are judged by the courts of the second instance, except in specific cases such as writs of

External links

* {{Authority control

Division of powers

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Federal judicial branch

Superior Courts

See also

External links